Development of evaporative cooling systems for short term vegetable storage | |
| Author | Pisit Rangsaritvutikul |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. AE-86-24 |
| Subject(s) | Vegetables--Storage Vegetables--Cooling |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Vegetables and fruits harvested in the field have to be kept for a short period of time before they are transported out to central markets. Efficient short term storage to reduce field heat and prevent deterioration of products during this period is important. This study was made to compare the effects of different evaporative cooler methods on short term storage of selected vegetables such as tomato, cucumber, yard long bean and kale. The three different coolers consists of a simple single stage evaporative cooler, an evaporative cooler using a cooling coil to cool the circulating water of the system and a two-stage evaporative cooler. Studies were conducted to select the best readily available evaporator material as an evaporative surface. Five different materials, rubber/coir, jute, charcoal, saw dust and chopped rice straw were used. Charcoal was selected to be the best evaporative surface to be used in the systems due to its high cooling efficiency, the best conditions of quality of air and circulating water, its availability, low cost and longer duration of effective use. A fan speed of 1440 RPM and a 15 cm thick charcoal pad resulted in high relative humidity values and a efficient temperature reduction of the air leaving the cooler system. The quality criteria monitored during the short terms storage the three storage conditions were weight loss, firmness, colour, condition, appearance by rating, puffiness, shrinkage and decay. under calyx Quality evaluation was done on a daily basis for vegetables stored for a short term of 7 days in storage under the different conditions. Evaporative cooling proved to be an effective means for removal of field heat and short term storage for all vegetables except kale. The quality of vegetables stored in the two-stage evaporative cooler was found to be superior to those stored in the single stage, evaporative cooler and also to those stored in the cooler with circulating cool water. |
| Year | 1986 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Food Engineering (AE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Illangantileke, Sarath G. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Jindal, Vinod Kumar ;Gupta, Chandra P. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1986 |